The Boston Red Sox lineup will resemble a much different team on the diamond for their series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
In the lineup shake-up, Jeter Downs will make his long-awaited debut. The Red Sox No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, has struggled all season, hitting .180, but does have some pop and speed. He has 11 home runs and stolen bases for Triple-A Worcester. The middle infielder is on the roster for depth, and will get his shot against the Tigers.
The Red Sox will be without some of their stars for their final game of the homestand, according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
"Raffy (Rafael Devers) won't play," Cora told reporters Tuesday, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "Probably Bogey (Xander Bogaerts) won't play tomorrow. He's a little bit banged up so, we try to give him two (off days in a row) before we go to Cleveland on Friday.
"We got Jeter playing tomorrow. It's a tough lefty, we'll have a bunch of righties out there and we'll battle with them."
Cora's goal is to win each series. With the Tigers series taken care of, and the off day Thursday, the Red Sox skipper will take advantage of the opportunity to give his stars some rest and prepare for their series against the Cleveland Guardians.
"Christian (Vázquez) will play first. (Kevin Plawecki) will catch. Bobby (Dalbec) will play third, Jeter is going to play short and Trevor (will play second). And then in the outfield: (Rob Refsnyder) in right, (Jarren) Duran in center and (Alex Verdugo) in left."
The Red Sox will play the third and final game of their series on Wednesday against the Tigers at Fenway Park with a completely different lineup. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET following an hour of pregame coverage, and you can watch it all on NESN.
